Reporter: TSA Agent Didn’t Know Washington, D.C., Was In United States

ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS Tampa) — A Transportation Security Administration agent at Orlando International Airport apparently didn’t know that Washington, D.C., is located in the United States.

WFTV reporter Justin Gray says he was flying out of the Orlando airport back to the nation’s capital over the weekend when the incident occurred. The TSA agent asked Gray for identification before going through a security checkpoint. When Gray handed him his D.C. license, the agent didn’t believe his ID was valid.

“I gave the TSA agent my D.C. driver’s license. After looking at it for a few seconds he demanded a passport,” Gray explained to WFTV. “I didn’t have my passport, so I asked why did he need it.”

That’s when the agent told Gray he didn’t recognize the reporter’s ID.

“Now at that point I was a little confused and started to realize what was going on and I said, ‘Do you not know what the District of Columbia is, Washington, D.C.?’” Gray said.

Gray tweeted at the time that the TSA agent thought the District of Columbia was a foreign country.

“[Orlando International Airport] should be concerned @TSA agent on duty thinks “District of Columbia” is foreign country. It’s a bizarre place but passport not needed,” Gray posted.

. @mco should be concerned @TSA agent on duty thinks "District of Columbia" is foreign country. It's a bizarre place but passport not needed

Gray said it then became clear that this TSA agent didn’t know that the city that resides President Barack Obama was, in fact, in the U.S.

After finally getting through security, Gray told a TSA supervisor about the incident.

A TSA spokesman told WFTV that agents are trained to detect fake documents.

“Officers are trained to identify fraudulent documents, which can potentially deter and detect individuals attempting to circumvent this layer of security,” spokesman Ross Feinstein told WFTV in a statement.

Due to the incident, all TSA agents at the Orlando airport are now being shown pictures of D.C. driver’s licenses.